Battlefield
by Macx
Summary: movie-fic. "Talk about my Dad blowing himself up is not helping!" Ironhide and Bella watch Lennox throughout a battle simulation. Imperfection 'verse


TITLE: Battlefield  
SERIES: Imperfection Deviation  
AUTHOR: Macx  
RATING: PG-13  
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money :)  
FEEDBACK: Love  
SUMMARY: "Talk about my Dad blowing himself up is not helping!"

Just a little piece...

Annabelle had never seen her father use his abilities and while she had been curious, going out into the desert to watch a training sequence hadn't been high on Bella Sheppard's list. It had been like a last barrier.

Now that one had been breached.

Sitting inside the black Topkick called Ironhide, the temperature perfectly air-conditioned so she was comfortable, Bella watched wide-eyed as an over twenty feet tall mech with glowing red optics tried to take out her father. Will Lennox was in his protoform shape, looking no longer like the human being who was her father. His ice blue optics glowed brightly and the way he flung energy bubbles, or whatever they were, at his opponent was… frightening and awe-inspiring in one.

Bella bit back a cry when the 'enemy' nailed Will with a well-placed shot.

"Relax," Ironhide rumbled. "That's foreplay."

"W-what?"

Something exploded out of the sand not far away and the second opponent crashed into her father, taking him down.

"Oh god…"

"He can take it."

"How can you be so relaxed? He's your partner!"

Ironhide chuckled. "I trained him Bella."

On the battle field Lennox had twisted around and had done something complicated looking, which had the opponent flat on his back. Energy collected in her father's hands and he launched the bubbles at the second mech.

"This isn't their first sequence," Ironhide told her. "Will was stupid enough to try and take them on all at once. All five. He got his butt handed to him twice."

"Five," she echoed.

"But he wreaked some damage." Ironhide sounded smug and proud in one.

Bella smiled at him. By now, after knowing Ironhide for close to a year, she understood more of the mech. He was still alien to her most of the time. He didn't act all too human, but then again, in certain situations, he was very human. Like right now. She heard the pride. She almost felt it radiate off the black Topkick. He was talking about his bonded and his bonded was kicking ass.

Down in the battle field something huge exploded and Bella stared in amazement at the crater of melted sand. It was a glassy substance now, steaming slightly, and her father looked just a little rattled.

"That was him?" she almost-whispered.

"Yes. He's getting better. Usually a release like that blows him into the next mountain side."

She gaped at the dash, drawn between horror and wondering whether Ironhide was joking or not.

"Really?"

"Yes."

He wasn't joking. He wasn't…

Her eyes were drawn to Will once more. He was in a battle-ready stance, energy collecting in one hand. Ironhide rumbled.

"What?" she demanded.

"Will has a problem reabsorbing energy into himself. It results in blowing himself up, so to speak."

Bella's hands clenched into the seats. "Blowing himself up!"

"He'll be fine, Bella. Lennox can take a lot without damage to him. It won't hurt him. He might be bruised and out of energy, but unharmed."

Bella shot the mech an evil look and thumped his steering wheel. "Don't scare me like that! I know he's no longer completely human, but I don't know what it really means, okay? Talk about my Dad blowing himself up is not helping!"

There was a moment of silence, punctuated by flashes of energy from below and the rumble of explosions going off, then Ironhide gave an electronic sigh.

"I apologize, Bella. I have seen him grow into what he is today. I am used to his abilities. Believe me, would he be harmed in training exercises, I wouldn't be a watcher."

Bella was silent, then nodded. "Okay. Understood."

Because Ironhide was protective and he wouldn't sit by when his bonded was taking himself apart. It helped, she decided. As much as it was alien, it helped. In Bella's mind she thought of them as a couple, of love existing between the two very different beings, even if the concept was alien to Ironhide in turn.

It helped her. It made things easier to understand. And it gave her this warm, fuzzy feeling associated with happiness.

Her father was happy.

That was enough to know.  



End file.
